Horrid start-up noise

[ubii]

Ouch, that sounds pretty nasty, I would get that looked at as soon as possible. I recently had my chain tensioner paddles replaced, since my car was already in the shop getting an IMS retrofit kit, clutch, and RMS installed. About a week or two before I took it in, it developed a somewhat similar sound upon cold starts, though not as profound and only lasting about 1-1.5 seconds. Here is photo of the chain tensioner paddles that were replaced, as you can see the two inner paddles on both banks (the two on the left side of the photo) were pretty ate up and I was told that this was the cause of the noise I heard. The link below, is to a thread I started prior to taking it into the shop, regarding my concerns of a potential IMS failure, after discovering metal flakes in my oil filter.

Metal Flakes Found in Oil Filter

[pothole]

Yeah, the sound was recorded in my garage and the reverb / wall reflections make it sound pretty bad. Don't get me wrong, it doesn't sound great out in the open, but it doesn't quite as gruesome. Also, it sounds completely normal after whatever it is that's catches or kicks in. It will need looking at, was just hoping someone may have experience something similar.

Can the hydraulic chain tensioners be changed without pulling the engine?

[ubii]

Originally Posted by pothole

Yeah, the sound was recorded in my garage and the reverb / wall reflections make it sound pretty bad. Don't get me wrong, it doesn't sound great out in the open, but it doesn't quite as gruesome. Also, it sounds completely normal after whatever it is that's catches or kicks in. It will need looking at, was just hoping someone may have experience something similar.

Can the hydraulic chain tensioners be changed without pulling the engine?

According to the following Pelican Parts technical article (see link below), you should be able to replace the paddles without removing the engine. Here is a quote from that article:

"All of the tasks illustrated here should be able to be performed on the engine while still installed in the car, although clearance is tight and it's somewhat difficult to work under the car."

http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarticles/Boxster_Tech/16-ENGINE-Camshaft_Swap_and_Chain_Tensioner/16-ENGINE-Camshaft_Swap_and_Chain_Tensioner.htm

I think that they decided to remove my engine, because they initially thought that the chain guides (99610517552 and 99610517353) would also need to be replaced. That ended up not being the case, as only the paddles (99610525300) needed replacing.

[pothole]

OK, thanks.

And for easier listening, I uploaded some youtube videos of the noise.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTy8jvx0VrY (bad noise)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCEYS_VFoKY (normal start up a few moments later)

[Frodo]

Wow, that first vid sounds like someone firing up the John Deere to start the harvest!

[pothole]

It does . But is it the chain? Could it be something else? It completely disappears after a few seconds...

[coreseller]

Possible shot in the dark......it wouldn't be the bendix / starter solenoid sticking or in any way starter motor related? The abrupt absence of the noise after a few seconds of racket makes me think the starter gear could be retracting......just a thought.

[Frodo]

Originally Posted by pothole

It does . But is it the chain? Could it be something else? It completely disappears after a few seconds...

Don't know the answer to your question, but I think mine does the same thing very briefly when I start her. It's a little hard to characterize, since it lasts only like a second. I assumed it was no big deal...